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Prophecy Boy

Boris was one of her top muscle, trusted, but still a normal; Aulia's eyes burned at him as he explained the half-naked kid on her office floor. "He was just there, on the sidewalk out front, just like that. We didn't rough him up, I swear."

The kid had that look, and it wasn't just the dust in his hair and the flakes of dirt caked to his skin, or even the smell. She'd gotten very good at placing people a very long time ago. "He's 'earth'."

"So, maybe he just grew there, like—"

"That's a myth." Aulia knelt down, close to the boy's face; he didn't recoil. Her voice was suddenly soothing, quiet, without its usual authoritative bite. "Are you hurt? Do you have a name?"

The kid said nothing. "Get one of the girls to clean him up. Get Cherry; she'll like him." I always wanted a pet.